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  • #21
    That was nearly 200 years ago, Guy, and it mentions "a small fee". It says nothing about anyone searching the registers themselves.

    If I were wanting to prove my own pedigree for some sort of gain, I'd happily stump up the cost of a few certs, always supposing I didn't already have those which are rightfully mine.

    It would be lovely if it were all free but of course nothing is free and just as I don't expect to pay a share of someone else's golf club membership, I don't expect them to subsidise my family history research.

    OC

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    • #22
      Originally posted by Olde Crone Holden View Post
      That was nearly 200 years ago, Guy, and it mentions "a small fee". It says nothing about anyone searching the registers themselves.

      If I were wanting to prove my own pedigree for some sort of gain, I'd happily stump up the cost of a few certs, always supposing I didn't already have those which are rightfully mine.

      It would be lovely if it were all free but of course nothing is free and just as I don't expect to pay a share of someone else's golf club membership, I don't expect them to subsidise my family history research.

      OC
      You are missing the point OC.

      The civil register system was set up to ensure people could trace their pedigrees as the old system of parish registers was not sufficient to do so in all cases.
      The fees have been set, raised and lowered and repealed throughout the history of civil registers. It is not up to register office staff who accesses the registers but up to the law of the land and they as do everyone else have to comply with that law.

      Your family history is being subsidised whether you use the system or you do not use the system simply because it exists and stores the records family history research requires.
      That storage and staff wages are already being paid for by the taxes we pay throughout our lives for things that benefit the population as a whole as well as individuals who make specific use of the facilities.
      You are not being subsidised by looking at a register which has to exist by law, if you wish to have a certificate that does cost extra as there is an additional cost in materials and staff labour but those extras do not exist when a member of the public searches a register book.

      It is the same as refusing to use the internet because you do not want others to subsidise your research, or indeed using a NHS doctor etc.
      Would you also refuse to use a "free" travel pass or a "free" TV licence if/or when you become entitled to have one for the same reasons?
      Would you refuse to listen to the radio because you would not want others to subsidise you entertainment?

      Our lives are filled with things we have to pay for and things that society as a whole subsidises. If something is supposed to be provided free at the point of contact like the NHS or indeed civil registers at a Registrar’s Office the staff who are paid to provide that service have a legal duty to provide the service they are being paid for.

      Cheers
      Guy
      Guy passed away October 2022

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      • #23
        No, not the same thing at all, Guy.

        the things you mention which are funded from central funds are potentially for the good of all - NHS, broadcasting (oncluding the internet which isn't free, not for me anyway) bus passes etc. Family History is a choice, a hobby for most people who do it but it is neither essential nor beneficial in a general way.

        In the good old days, haha, access to registers was free....as long as you could get to the office. Not fair on those who lived 200 miles away. Theoretically, (according to you) access is still free, but financial constraints on the public (local) purse have made this freedom meaningless - you cannot get at the registers. They will quote Data Protection laws etc and drag their heels until you either get fed up or die of old age.

        OC

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        • #24
          Originally posted by Guy View Post

          The Registrar deals with the current Births, Marriages and Deaths and once the current register is full it is passed to the Superintendent Registrar for keeping.
          Even though these may be in the same building and even housed in the same room there is a distinction in law between the two facilities.
          Guy, you are correct, there is a distinction in law but the current registers are passed to the Superintendent Registrar as soon as they are full (300 entries for births/deaths ) and have been through the correction & checking process. These days that means that current registers rarely cover anything more than the last 2 or 3 months at most so are not really of much use for most genealogical research purposes.
          Retired professional researcher, and ex- deputy registrar, now based in Worcestershire. Happy to give any help or advice I can ( especially on matters of civil registration) - contact via PM or my website www.chalfontresearch.co.uk
          Follow me on Twittter @ChalfontR

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